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| photos stolen from band's instagram. |
Funnily enough, I don't think I knew pretty much anything about shortstop until Washed played with them. I saw skramz in their instagram handle and kind of assumed they'd be the same as all the other ones that come through flagstaff--yet their brand of screaming, math-inspired emo cannot simply be distilled down to an overused TikTok buzzword. shortstop goes further than that, and so does their self-titled album.
racecar i starts in sympathy and grace, rounded chords filled with bottomless low end paint a path to that certain recognizable and addicting brand of adolescent misery. Jonathon's guitar is completely unwavering, no need for unnecessary distortion or pedals--just straight, thorough, and easy until its chorus. His and Ren's screams bounce off of each other in parallel play against dragging triplets and sputtering toms.
sisyphus / orpheus makes me wish Mateo's bass was louder. As clean and almost perfect this production is, I feel like it doesn't fit. It's too good for songs that commiserate in imperfection and those messy little corners of life. The screams sound fucking perfect, though. Bass has its moment here, crunching between vanilla guitar tones that swipe liquid chords before math rock pull offs reveal roots beneath their orchard--their true inspirations. This ultra-fast post-chorus part is definitely my favorite part of this song. "Help me save you" is a close second.
i think you should leave bolsters some of the most fun guitar play on the album, riffs bouncing to standard procedure, off-kilter signatures, and these pulsing, gazey emo choruses.
valse trois feels very Vs Self to me in its intro, the biggest discrepancy being Jonathon's absolutely agonizing vocals. They crack at the end of their urges, like echoes of a broken will. We stop to rest in a 3/4 jam for a while before these western chord changes take over in a bit of fun and light full band hits. Oh, Robin Williams. Beautiful.
vote by mail. Ren's drumming on this is too incredible, floating tight over these awkward accents and time signatures with so much grace. This song is an incredible example of that, although I wish they could be a little more present in the mix itself. Oh fuck, and the little ride sprinkles before the ending, too. Great stuff on this song.
the assassination of shinzo abe lincoln returns to the waves of pull-offs and hammer-ons in between distorted chugs and that hardcore snare pounding. I think this song is great at playing with space, using blast beats to build tension and (almost) silence to dissipate it. It's a sweet little exercise in stepping back. I really love the piano part, too, and honestly wish we could've gotten more of that type of thing in the rest of this album. It adds a more interesting layer to the riffs and heightens the instrumental depth and texture of the tracks. This little moment is where the album felt most full.
john wilkes kissing booth stays in the same headspace, this trigonometry frontier stand-off taking precedence over the pulsing chords and cymbal smashes. We get shortstop's version of a breakdown, tinged with melody as an almost beautiful take on the sonic phenomenon. I really love this ending.
but the heart has its own memory and i have forgotten nothing reminds me of something, but I can't quite put my finger on what... Man, this bass is way too quiet, but holy shit the part it introduces is gorgeous, Jonathon's bubble guitar arpeggiating every outlined note. I really appreciate that, despite the heaviness in sound, there's always some sort of sympathy to the melody of the riffs themselves. That takes precedence over everything.
racecar ii ends where we began, this time cracking a bit more at the edges, falling apart in time with each scream and chant. Its main riff is wonderful, just a little bittersweet moment in time caught on some medium unchanged.
Ultimately, there are moments on this album that feel repetitive for the sake of filling space, but for the most part it kept me engaged and listening at all times. It just reminds me of all of the little melodic emo stuff I would listen to in high school, and I'll always have a big sweet spot for stuff like that.
6.5/10
Stream shortstop.
-Foster
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